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Muslims & Jews During Holocaust

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With everything we see on the news in today’s political climate, sometimes we forget the truly meaningful, unifying, and important stories of the many selfless heroes in our world. Friday, January 27th was Holocaust Remembrance Day. An exhibit put on by the “I am Your Protector” campaign in a New York synagogue featured many stories of brave Muslims who risked their lives to help rescue Jewish people during one of the world’s most terrible times, the Holocaust and World War II.

The powerful exhibit serves as a reminder that not only are we all humans, but we are all living in this same world. While Muslim people and Jewish people have their religious differences, the exhibit also serves as a reminder that a “history of cooperation and mutual assistance” exists between them.

Khaled Abdul Wahab and Abdol Hossein Sardari are features in the exhibit. Wahab was one individual who helped shelter about 24 Jewish people in Tunisia. Sardari, who was an Iranian diplomat, was known for issuing passports to Jewish individuals who were fleeing the Nazis.

The Pilkus, who were a Muslim family in Albania were also featured. They are known for keeping Johanna Neumann and her mother safe in their home during the German occupation. During Neumann’s time with the Pilkus, the Pilkus told everyone that the young girl and her mother were family visiting from Germany.

Neumann is 86-years-old today and stated that the family “put their lives on the line to save us… What these people did, many European nations didn’t do… They all stuck together and were determined to save Jews.”